Welcome to Patricia Youngquist, The Last Leaf Gardener's blog. I'm a photo-artist, bird-lover and urban gardener living in NYC. I'm also an author with a published book series, "Words In Our Beak." The stories are told by Cam, the bird pictured above. For info click on images 1-3 in the sidebar (L). My website (Patriciayoungquist.com.) mainly features my non-nature themed images (Black and White as well as Kaleidoscopic). Click on the 4th image in sidebar (L) to visit.

Normally the coloration of male house finches is red, and, knowing this, caused the little sparrow to be very concerned as to what caused this particular finch to have a white-colored face and a white head. The sparrow listened very carefully and with great empathy as the house finch confided in the sparrow saying that he had a case of leucism.
Not knowing if I overheard the house finch correctly I queried Joan Morris (with a one of these photos) and she informed me that it appears my white-headed visitor was a leucistic house finch. Curious about the implications for my avian visitor, I looked it up and according to Still Life With Birder, "birds with the condition face special challenges in the wild. Lighter plumage may rob the birds of protective camouflage and make them more vulnerable to predators such as hawks and feral cats. Because plumage colors play an important role in courtship rituals, birds with leucism may be unable to find strong, healthy mates." My aforementioned source also states "Leucism, or leukism, is an abnormal plumage condition caused by a genetic mutation."

I was saddened to learn the consequences that this little creature faced and admired his tenacity. I also identified with his feelings re having a condition as a result of a genetic mutation as I have have a medical condition as a result of a mutation. My condition is a nerve disorder known as Neurofibromatosis Type One (NF-1). In my case, it is the result of a mutation of chromosome seventeen. I wrote about this in one of my first blog posts,"Tis true my form is something odd..." (that I published in 2010), where I wrote about my having been born with NF-1. In that entry, I discussed how alienated and isolated I had felt having this condition; a condition which caused me to lose occupations at a prominent NYC museum and at a well known college; because people were afraid I was contagious.

My case is fairly mild, but it has prevented me from getting certain jobs and has caused me to be terminated from others. To this day people stop and ask me about the "lumps and bumps" that are on my face and all parts of my body.Even when I was vacationing in Italy, I was approached regarding this. The instances are always painful and there is nothing I can do about preventing them from occurring; however, I am getting somewhat better in my response to the unpleasant encounters. In any event, NF-1 is rare as conditions go, and therefore, I was most surprised to have it come up when I attended a Thomas Merton-themed retreat a little over a week ago. The leader of the retreat, Christopher Pramuk, cited Pope Francis's embracing Vinicio Riva (a 53-year-old from Vicenza, Italy who suffers from neurofibromatosis). Riva is afflicted with a severe case of NF-1. Evidently the Pope's embrace of him happened in 2013, but I had never heard of the incident.

I've posted a video (below, from You Tube) featuring the afflicted man, as a way of standing in solidarity with his (and others who have NF), for the cruelty we've had to contend with in having NF-1.

A good number of years ago I wrote a book, An Inside Story, about the inner experience (starting out with a child's perspective) of having this disorder, but have not done much with my endeavor as I've been helping Cam with her book,Words In Our Beak Volume One.

Cam, as readers of her book know, stands in solidarity with members of the avian community; especially those who are dismissed due to their physical appearance. And it appears the sparrow seen in the photographs atop this entry is also concerned for the circumstances of others and does not let their appearances stand in the way of being with them. I truly hope the little leucistic house finch will survive his circumstances and also find a loving mate, for he is very adorable as you can see in the pictures atop this entry as well as in the ones that follow.

If I were a female finch looking to date, I would NOT swipe past this guy if I came across his picture!

ADENMENDUM: The digital versions of Volume One within the Words In Our Beak book series that are mentioned in this entry may only remain available for a limited time, but a hardcover version of Volume One can be found wherever books are sold.Moreover, Volume Two of the book series is now available! Both volumes one and two are in hardcover format (as seen below) and can be purchased any place where books are sold.

Here's the purchase info for thehardcover versionsof the Words In Our Beak book series: